Container for receiving a balancing weight roller

ABSTRACT

A container configured to receive a belt of balancing weights and to dispense the same is formed as a cartridge that is substantially closed on all sides. The container has two spaced apart sidewalls, dimensioned to receive the belt roll between them, as well as a circumferential wall, which connects the sidewalls to one another and is provided with a dispensing opening for the passage of the belt. At the inner side of at least one of the sidewalls there is at least one brake tab that is laterally adjacent to the belt or the belt roll and spreading slanted against a rearward movement of the belt or the belt roller.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from pending European Application No. 14166904.4 filed on May 2, 2014.

This application is a continuation of pending International Application No. PCT/EP2015/058978 filed on Apr. 24, 2015, which designates the United States and claims priority from European Application No. 14166904.4 filed on May 2,2014. The disclosure of each of the above-mentioned patent application is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a container for receiving a wound tape or roll—hereinafter referred to as belt—being fitted with balancing weights and for dispensing the same to a transport and cutting-off mechanism, wherein the container is formed as a cartridge substantially closed on all sides, with two spaced-apart sidewalls receiving such roll (the belt roll) between them, as well as a circumferential wall connecting these sidewalls to each other. The cartridge is provided with a dispensing opening dimensioned for the passage of the belt therethrough.

2. Description of Relevant Art

Containers of the above described type serve on the one hand as transport containers, but on the other hand also form (particularly, for example, in automatic balancing systems for large-scale manufacturing of automobiles) a magazine for holding and dispensing the balancing weight belts to a transport and cutting-off mechanism, in which mechanism a belt portion (provided for balancing a wheel and fitted with the required number of balancing weights) is pulled out and cut-off for further processing. It has been found that, in particular with upright standing cartridges with a dispensing opening arranged in the upper region of said cartridge, when the belt end being outside of the cartridge is not held, the tape roll tends to rotate back against the advance rotational direction taking place when pulling-out a tape section, and draw back the free belt end into the cartridge, where it is generally not possible to bring the belt end to the surface again without opening the cartridge, i.e. possibly destroy it.

From EP 1 477 703 A2 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,409, containers of the above-mentioned type with upright-standing cartridges are known in which, however, the dispensing opening is formed in the lower region of the cartridge, respectively, such that the above-described adverse effect does not occur. However, these containers have the disadvantage that the belt roll with its not inconsiderable weight presses on the free belt end guided to the dispense opening and presses said belt end against the lower circumferential wall, such that, especially in case of a still full tape roll, a considerable resistance against the conveying movement of the belt arises.

In DE 201 04 923 U1, a container of the above-mentioned type with a dispense opening in the upper region of the upright-standing cartridge is shown. Here, the belt end remains permanently clamped and held between two feed rollers during operation, i.e. also after cutting-off, such that it cannot be pulled into the cartridge even in case of an eventual reverse rotation of the belt roll, at least during this phase of operation.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,981,227 B1 discloses a cardboard for adhesive tapes. It has two gripping lugs which may be punched out.

SUMMARY

The embodiments are based on the object of improving a cartridge of the above-mentioned type such that, regardless of its position and location in space, a sliding-back of the free belt end is reliably prevented in a simple manner, i.e. also without the belt end being held in a feed mechanism or the like.

In a preferred embodiment, a cartridge serves for receiving a tape being fitted with balance weights—hereinafter referred to as belt. The tape is preferably wound up to a belt roll, and may be fed to a (not illustrated) transport and cutting-off mechanism, or for manual sampling, in which a belt portion required for balancing a wheel is cut off and attached to the wheel. The balance weights preferably have an adhesive tape on the rear side, and more preferably a protective film on the outside of the adhesive tape. The cartridge preferably comprises two spaced sidewalls receiving the belt roll between them. Furthermore, a circumferential wall connecting the sidewalls to one another is provided which preferably includes a plurality of circumferential wall portions, due to the preferably cuboidal configuration of the cartridge.

Preferably at least one brake tab is provided at the inner side of at least one of the sidewalls of the cartridge, the brake tab being adjacent to the belt or the belt roll, respectively, and spread slanted or sloped or inclined against a rearward movement of the belt or rearward rotation of the belt roll.

Each of the brake tabs acts in a braking manner on the belt roll or the free belt end, respectively, independent of the weight distribution of the belt roll in the cartridge or of the location of the cartridge in space, respectively, in particular independent of whether the belt end is held by a downstream device, such that a retraction or falling back of this belt end into the cartridge is effectively avoided.

According to one embodiment it is provided that two brake tabs are arranged at one of the sidewalls of the cartridge, such brake tabs lying substantially diametrically opposite to each other with relation to the axis of the belt roll and radially aligned to one another and being adjacent to a lateral side of the belt roll. In this way, substantially the entire diameter of the lateral side of the belt roll is used for braking the same. As shown in an exemplary embodiment, also the free belt end being partially unwound of the belt roll and being guided to the dispense opening may be held.

The cartridge is preferably made of a cardboard material, wherein the respective brake tab is formed by punching and folding out of the plane of the respective sidewall. Cardboard material is easy to process, inexpensive and lightweight, such that it does not significantly contribute to the total weight of the belt roll and the associated container.

It is particularly preferred, if the cartridge is formed from a single cardboard blank comprising a substantially, nearly rectangular base plane forming a first one of the sidewalls, surface segments adjacent to the outer edges of the base plane and forming the circumferential wall, and surface elements being adjacent to the outer edges of these surface segments and forming the second sidewall. The cartridge is then formed by folding and gluing the surface segments and surface elements in the known manner, as is shown in detail by way of the example of embodiment.

In order to keep the belt roll in the cartridge substantially centrally, it is further preferably provided that a circular cylinder, preferably a cardboard cylinder, having a thickness (height) substantially corresponding to the width of the belt is arranged centrally on the inside of the base plane. Such cylinder serves as a hub for the belt roll. This hub causes the belt roll to remain centered in the cartridge even with decreasing diameter of the belt roll, and not to rest on the lower circumferential wall, where it would cause significant friction increasing the extraction force of the belt.

According to a further embodiment it is provided that the base plane is slanted in the region of one of its corners, and that the dispensing opening for passage of the belt is formed in the associated surface segment for the circumferential wall. In this way, the belt can be moved substantially horizontally out of the cartridge without abutting on the circumferential wall, as shown in the embodiment.

A particularly advantageous embodiment of the cardboard blank provides that at each of the outer edges of two mutually opposing first surface segments for the circumferential wall, a surface element adjoins which complements with the respective other surface element to the second side wall, and that a brake tab is formed at each of these surface elements. A further surface element adjoins to one of the surface segments being in a right angle position to these first two surface segments, which further surface element covers the both first surface elements forming the second sidewall, and thus closes the openings generated when punching and folding out the brake tabs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, the invention will be described by way of example, without limitation of the general inventive concept, on examples of embodiment and with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a finished cartridge fitted with a belt carrying balancing weights;

FIG. 2 shows a cardboard blank for the manufacturing of a cartridge; and

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E, and 3F show folding instructions for the production of a cartridge from a cardboard blank.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment. The cartridge 2 as shown in FIG. 1 serves for receiving a tape fitted with balancing weights 4—hereinafter referred to as belt 8—which is wound up to a belt roll 6 and preferably is fed to a transport and cutting-off mechanism (not shown), or for manual sampling, in which a belt portion required for balancing a wheel is cut off and attached to the wheel. The cartridge 2 has two spaced sidewalls 10 and 12 receiving the belt roll 6 there-between, of which only the sidewall 10 facing to the viewer can be seen in FIG. 1, as well as a circumferential wall interconnecting the sidewalls 10, 12, which as a whole is referred to with 14, and which consists of a plurality of circumferential wall portions 14 a to 14 e, due to the approximately cuboidal configuration of the cartridge 2.

As can be seen FIG. 1, one of the corners of the cartridge 2 is cut obliquely, wherein in the circumferential wall segment 14 b forming this obliquely cut corner, a dispensing opening 16 is formed through which the belt 8 exits.

The belt roll 6 is centrally and rotatably supported on a hub 18 formed in the interior of the cartridge.

On the viewer-facing sidewall 10, two brake tabs 32, 34 are formed, which tabs spread slanted against the sides of the belt roll 6 opposite to a rotation direction of the belt roll 6 (the rotation direction being indicated with arrow 44), thus avoiding such rotation or sliding back of the belt 8 into the cartridge. The brake tab 32 may reach that far radially outwards that even with a full belt roll the outermost winding, i.e. the already lifted belt end is held. Optionally, sliding back of the belt end is further reduced by the circumferential wall segment 14 b being inclined downwards from the dispensing opening 16, since the weights adjoining the circumferential wall segment 14 b preferably pull down here.

FIG. 2 shows a cardboard blank 20 with a base plane 22 forming a first one 12 of the sidewalls, at the outer edges 24 a to 24 e of which the circumferential wall segments 14 a to 14 e adjoin.

A surface element 28 adjoins to the outer edge 26 a of the circumferential wall segment 14 a, which surface element forms the second side wall 10 together with surface element 30 being adjacent to the outer edge 26 d of the circumferential wall segment 14 d. A brake tab 32 or 34, respectively, is punched in each of the surface elements 28 and 30, such that these tabs can be folded around an associated folding edge, out of the plane of the associated surface element.

A circumferential wall segment 14 b adjoins to the oblique outer edge 24 b of the base plane 22, in which circumferential wall segment 14 b a dispensing opening 36 is punched out.

The hub 18 is arranged on the base plane 22, which hub is formed, for example, of a circular cardboard cylinder with a thickness substantially corresponding to the width of the belt 8.

A further surface element 38 adjoins to the outer edge 26 c of the circumferential wall segment 14 c, whose function will be explained with reference to FIG. 3.

The surface elements 40 or 42, respectively, which adjoin at the outer edge 26 b of the circumferential wall segment 14 b on the one hand and at the outer edge 26 e of the circumferential wall segment 14 e on the other hand, are pure adhesive edges, as will also be explained with reference to FIG. 3.

FIGS. 3A to 3F show an instruction how to fold a cardboard blank 20 according to FIG. 2 to a cartridge 2 according to FIG. 1, to glue it and to fit it with a belt roll 6.

In the first step (FIG. 3A) a belt roll 6 is mounted on the hub 18, the oblique circumferential wall segment 14 b is folded up and the belt end withdrawn from the belt roll 6 is threaded through the dispensing opening 36. The surface element 40 serving as the adhesive edge is folded such that it lies parallel to the plane of base plane 22.

In the next steps, the brake tabs 32, 34 formed in the surface elements 28, 30 are folded inwardly, such that they spread against a rearward rotation of the belt roll (according to arrow 44) after folding inwards the surface elements 28, 30; the surface elements 28, 30 are folded inwards such that the brake tabs rest on the belt roll 6 (FIGS. 3B to 3D).

In a further step, the covering strips arranged on the surface elements 38, 40 and 42 are peeled off, so that the subjacent adhesive layers are revealed, and thereafter the surface element 42 and the surface element 38 are successively folded onto the surface elements 28, 30 forming the second side wall, and are glued together. The cartridge 2 is now ready for use in a transport and cutting-off mechanism, wherein the belt roll 6 is prevented from rearward rotation and the belt end protruding from the dispense opening is prevented from sliding back into the cartridge by the brake tabs 32, 34. In order to additionally secure the belt end for a longer transport, it may be, for example, releasably glued to the circumferential wall segment 14 c.

It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that this invention is believed to provide a container for receiving a balancing weight roller. Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention. Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   2 cartridge -   4 balancing weights -   6 belt roll -   8 belt -   10 first sidewall -   12 second sidewall -   14 circumferential wall -   14 a-14 e circumferential wall segments -   16 dispense opening -   18 hub -   20 cardboard blank -   22 base plane -   24 a-24 e outer edges -   26 a-26 e outer edges -   28 surface element -   30 surface element -   32 brake tab -   34 brake tab -   36 dispensing opening -   38 surface element -   40 surface element -   42 surface element -   44 arrow 

1. A balancing weight dispenser configured to dispense a balancing weight from a belt of balancing weights formed into a belt roll, the container comprising: a cartridge substantially closed on all sides, the cartridge having two spaced apart sidewalls dimensioned to receive the belt roll between them, and a circumferential wall connecting said two sidewalls to one another and having therein a dispensing opening dimensioned to pass the belt therethrough, at least one brake tab at an inner side of at least one of the two sidewalls, said brake tab being laterally adjacent to the belt, and spread slanted against a rearward movement of the belt o, and the belt of balancing weights comprising a plurality of balancing weights attached to an adhesive tape, the belt of balancing weights disposed inside the cartridge.
 2. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 1, wherein two brake tabs are provided at the same one of the two sidewalls of the cartridge, said brake tabs lying substantially diametrically opposite to each other with relation to an axis of the belt roll and radially aligned to one another and being adjacent to a lateral side of the belt roll.
 3. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge includes a cardboard material, and wherein a brake tab is a portion of said sidewall folded to project out of a plane of a sidewall from the two sidewalls.
 4. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the cartridge includes a single cardboard blank, comprising (i) a substantially rectangular base plane configured to form a first one of the two sidewalls, (ii) circumferential wall segments adjoining respective outer edges of the base plane and configured to form the circumferential wall, and (iii) surface elements adjoining outer edges of said circumferential wall segments and together configured to form a second of the two side walls.
 5. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 4, wherein a circular cardboard cylinder is arranged centrally on an inner side of the base plane, said cardboard cylinder configured as a hub for the belt roll and having a height substantially corresponding to the width of the belt.
 6. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 4, wherein the base plane is slanted in the region of one of its corners, and that the dispense opening is formed in a circumferential wall segment associated with a surface segment for the circumferential wall.
 7. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 4, wherein a first surface element adjoins an outer edge of a first circumferential wall segment from said circumferential wall segments, a second surface element adjoins an outer edge of a second circumferential wall segment from said circumferential wall segments, wherein said first and second circumferential wall segments are mutually opposing one another, each of said first and second circumferential wall segments carrying a corresponding brake tab from the two brake tabs.
 8. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 7, wherein a first surface element (38) is adjacent to a second circumferential wall segment (14 c) being orthogonally to one of the two first circumferential wall segments (14 a, 14 d), which first surface element covers the both second surface elements (28, 30) forming the second side wall.
 9. A balancing weight dispenser according to claim 1, wherein a segment of said circumferential wall is inclined downwardly from the dispensing opening in order to further reduce, in operation of the dispenser, a sliding motion of the belt back into the dispensing opening. 